One of my directories in particular has been hit hard by spam. In that case, the directory doesn't accept homepage links, but I get insane levels of submissions of just that (which are obviously rejected). I have a feeling the directory has been added to one or more free directory submission tools. I'm sure there's an easy way to find out that I simply haven't done yet. I was wondering if you could share tips on that front. I'm not worried about that particular directory because I'm selling it off anyway, but I have a niche one that will be facing a similar problem - no homepage links, and in that case only very targeted pages are going to be accepted (so I obviously don't want automatic submitters hitting it if I can avoid it). So my other question is this - if I do find out a directory submitter service it hitting one of my directories, is there something I can do to block them easily in the future if I contact them and they won't willingly remove the site? Thanks!
It's not necessarily an automatic submission tool, it could just mean that you're on a directory list somewhere. The problem can be worse if they get your details wrong, but even when they get it right the quality of traffic from certain lists can lead to a lot of off-topic submissions. The first thing you should do is check your logs and look for any new referring urls. That might give you a better idea of where this is coming from.
Hi jhmattern, Even if you contact the developers or sellers and they agree to remove your directories, there will still be old, existing versions of their tools out there that may continue to hit your sites. I haven't looked into the latest versions of PHPLd so I don't know if this idea is correct, but what's always struck me as a killer for directory submitters is randomisation of the field and button names on the submit page. The submitters that I'm aware of access the form fields and buttons by name. If the names aren't predictable then the submitter isn't going to work. Every time the submit page loads, the field names could be changed. The order of fields on the page could even be altered. Another strategy that's even simpler is to randomise the submit page's URL. Every PHPLd directory has a submit.php. Perhaps this could be changed on a regular basis? Strategies like these would work for a while at least.
I've seen the directory on several lists, so I know it's getting manual submissions that way - although the rules are clearly laid out when they then visit the submission page, so I doubt that would account for thousands of inappropriate links. They've also come in waves in the past, which is why I'm assuming there's some automated culprit(s) among the more traditional spammers. I'll take a peek at the logs again as soon as I'm able, and I'll see if I can find anything odd. Thanks! Brian - those sound like great (and relatively painless) ideas. I'll try changing the page name / URL first and see how that affects things. If nothing else, it might deter those same problems on the newer site.
Dont know what script your using but i use IP, Domain, Email banning and patience. Theres no point spending any time fussing over spam, just try and block as best as you can, they do eventually stop, unfortunately to be placed by new spammers so where along the line but its unrealisic to expect to stop spam. If you are running on PHPLD then theres at least one mod that can stop deeplink submissions.
I think you just ruined my day. lol But yes, phpLD - free version on two of the sites and paid on another. But I haven't had time to work with the directories in a while, so I'm sure they all need to be upgraded anyway soon. I guess that'll have to be step one. Unfortunately I don't want to stop deep links - those are actually the only types of links allowed. You're right on patience though - I forgot how much they took (and probably a part of why I stopped maintaining them in the first place in favor of other projects). And thanks for the speedy responses and tips folks. You're amazingly responsive over in this section.
I have been dealing with them - in one simple way by PhpLD 3.2 I Click on All SPAM URLs - then Click hardly on Ban Domain It does not stop them - but slows them down. I used to receive anywhere between 20-50 SPAM submissions before - I started this step Now I get 2/3.
I'll keep that in mind with the newer directory on that version, thanks. I'm not terribly familiar with it yet, so I'll have to go in and play with that. Out of curiosity though, why does banning the domain only slow them down rather than stop them? Wouldn't that stop any further submissions from their site?
Yeah it'll block that site from being submitted again. But these spammers are just robots that submit hundreds per day. So you'll continue to get fresh spam each day.
It seems - you have been a Lazy Directory Owner These guys operate - on automated/semi-automated programs. They just click and the bots/programs start submitting. That is why I am always against directory submission services using these softwares. I am at pains to say - most directory submission services ( please mind it - not all of them) - are craps like this. They put everything on automated process - and charge cheap prices. The approval rates in most cases is less than 30% (like you will never approve)- thereby - webmasters spoiling their money. PS: It slows them down - because most of their existing clients' sites have been banned and new clients are added only slowly. While writing this post - I just received a submission. Here is some proof - I just clicked and banned this url (a Warez site in a health niche)--
lol Very much so. I gave up on the main one a while back, which is why I'm getting rid of it. But the headache of it was good experience - it showed me what I want to avoid and protect myself against with the new one, more specific niche one (namely that I need to find a way to avoid all the spam). With that one, I will likely eventually remove the public submission page, and create a non-indexable version I can send to publishers in my network instead (why the suggestion of an odd URL for that page is a great idea). In the meantime though, I'd really like to keep that open publicly to invite a few submissions from writers wanting to share their favorite markets. Can't have the best of both worlds, so I'll take what I can get. lol And the example you gave is exactly the kind of crap I'm trying to avoid. It actually was so overrun with spam, that I gave up on finding legitimate submissions about a dozen pages in, and just mass-deleted the several thousand. Sucks for the few that really did follow the rules I know, but I figured it was better to start fresh and avoid the problem than to make them wait forever until I finally found time to manually sort through all of that. I definitely learned a lesson though - tighter niches to deter submissions that don't belong, and more time (apparently a lot more time lol).
hope phpld script can overcome this problem, directory owners hate automatic submission: usually wrong categories
Any good coder can rewrite your script, especially on paid sites to effectively block spam. It really should not be a major problem with the technology we have today.
I have already done this effectively, and have also fixed a few things that remain broken in the script that have never been fixed. They probably don't even know about it. edit: *Note* I have installed this MOD on Aviva, DirJournal, Authority and DirectoryMIX with 100% accuracy thus far. It has been running as long as 6 months on one of the directories so far with said accuracy.
I would think that adding CAPTCHA image validation, or a similar human validation check would slow down the spammers. Unfortunately, it also discourages legitimate posters somewhat. You could also try to see if there is an Akismet or similar anti-spam plugin available for your directory script. At my http://proxyfreelist.com web proxy listing site, I used to get a lot of spam submissions back when I was using the Aardvark topsites script. When I changed to using a custom script, I added a recip checker that prevents submissions from sites that don't have a recip link already in place. Since doing that I haven't had a single spam submit. You could probably add some similar validation checks to prevent invalid submissions. Just make sure you test thoughroughly to ensure you're not also preventing valid submitters from posting. Basically what you want to do is try to frustrate the spammers to the point where they give up the idea of spamming your site; but without pissing off the genuine submitters too much.
No need for the hassles associated with CAPTCHA when you have an0n's spamguard. I think I was the first to have this version after Mix and it has never missed a single spam submission.